Tag Archives: amicus

When we last wrote about Michael Mann’s libel suit against National Review, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and two individual defendants, the DC Superior Court had denied anti-SLAPP motions filed by all defendants. Since that date, there have been several notable developments in the case, including an appeal to the DC Court of Appeals, a return to the DC Superior Court, and another upcoming appeal. Here is what you might have missed:

In the three plus years since the DC anti-SLAPP statute first became effective, parties have argued that it violates the Home Rule, cannot be used retroactively, cannot be applied in federal court, and does not apply to motions made more than 45 days after service. Now, in a galaxy far, far away (well, actually New York), a high-profile plaintiff is asserting a new argument: that the statute violates the Seventh Amendment.

While the Sherrod v. Breitbart appeal has attracted a lot of attention at the DC Circuit, there is another case that could resolve whether the DC anti-SLAPP statute applies in federal court: Farah v. Esquire. There, the plaintiffs/appellants are appealing the district court’s decision granting the defendants’ anti-SLAPP and 12(b)(6) motions and dismissing their false light, defamation, and Lanham Act causes of action. As alleged in the Complaint, a May 2011 post on Esquire’s politics blog contained fictional statements by publisher Joseph Farah that he would destroy the first-run print of Jerome Corsi’s book, Where’s the Birth Certificate? The Case …

The Sherrod v. Brietbart appeal is now fully briefed (opening brief here, opposition brief here, and reply brief here) and ready for the oral argument, scheduled for March 15, 2013. (The case has also attracted amicus briefs, including from the District of Columbia, the ACLU and Public Citizen, and a host of news organizations). The threshold question in Sherrod is whether the denial of an anti-SLAPP motion is immediately appealable under the collateral order doctrine of Cohen v. Beneficial Loan Corp. (The DC Court of Appeals recently held that it was not). Under Cohen, the appellants must show that the …

A series of filings in response to the defamation suit filed by Yasser Abbas against the Foreign Policy Group and Jonathan Schanzer have now focused the DC federal court on the same question pending before the DC Circuit in Sherrod v. Breitbart: does the DC anti-SLAPP statute apply in federal court?

After a period of relative quiet, there has been a flurry of activity in the District of Columbia federal and state courts in cases involving the DC anti-SLAPP statute. Here’s a summary of where the various cases stand: • Sherrod v. Breitbart: The case drawing the most attention is the pending appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Sherrod v. Breitbart. There, the defendants/appellants have filed their opening brief; the District of Columbia has filed an amicus brief; Public Citizen and the American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation’s Capital have filed …

With apologies to Queen, another anti-SLAPP suit has bitten the dust. Unlike the Lehan v. Fox Television Stations case, in which the defendants’ anti-SLAPP motion was granted, however, the high-profile squabble between 3M and Lanny Davis has ended because of a settlement.

One of the main issues to be decided in the Sherrod and 3M appeals is whether there is a right to immediate appeal from the denial of an anti-SLAPP motion. In urging the DC Circuit to summarily affirm the district court’s decision denying the anti-SLAPP motion, Ms. Sherrod argued that the statute did not provide a right to immediate review and that the appeal should be dismissed on that basis alone. 3M made a similar argument in moving to dismiss the Davis defendants’ appeal. In response, the DC Circuit ordered, here and here, that “the motion to dismiss be referred to …

A group of leading news organizations and a related professional organization have asked the DC Circuit for leave to file an amicus brief in support of the appellants in Sherrod v. Breitbart and 3M v. Davis. Their motion explains that they “will argue that the District of Columbia Anti-SLAPP Act applies in federal court to diversity actions.” While this issue will be briefed, at length, by the parties to the appeals, the media’s motion argues that they “bring substantial experience to bear on the issues presented here – not simply in terms of legal expertise, but also in terms of …

The American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation’s Capital, DC Councilmember Mary Cheh and a host of media organizations, including National Public Radio, Albritton, Politico, and WUSA-TV, yesterday filed an amicus brief in support of the City Paper and Dave McKenna’s motion to have Dan Snyder’s complaint dismissed under DC’s anti-SLAPP statute. The amicus brief, which has gotten attention for its reference to Harry Potter and Voldemort, explains that DC’s anti-SLAPP statute is part of a growing trend, joining 27 other jurisdictions that have enacted similar legislation.

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